Fermentation. To covet or not to cover?

[paulgough]

What's the story?

Discuss...

 

[PD]

well if its cold I'll wear a thick jumper, but normally a tee shirt suffices......

 

[wilsoa1111]

worth covering in the domestic homebrew setup-stops fruit flies (little vinegar bacteria covered bug-gers), but dont really need an airlock- i just like em cos they sound gd and im ocd

 

[DirtyCaner]

Cover, always.

 

[TRXnMe]

Always under airlock for me, not had a brew go off yet (touches wood) and now I've gone AG losing a brew and 'wasting' 6 hours hard grafft would be a killer if it was 'just' a fruit fly doing the bad work.

 

[prolix]

cover, airlock, positive pressure you can never be too careful :lol:

 

[Farmbrew]

If I've got a good head of yeast I cover loosely with lid and put a tea towel on top.
For bottom fermenters like lager always under air lock.

 

[pittsy]

open fermenting is the same as a plastic vessel with a lid ON , its more to do with the shape than anything . Many German brewers have open fermenting vessels that are very wide and flat similar our plastic fv's which with some yeasts (top fermenting mostly) work better because there is more surface contact area with air etc , other types of fv's like conical apart from being sealed have a smaller contact area with air so using bottom fermenting yeast are ideal for this type . The open fermenting vessels will have sealed (ish) rooms so dust and bugs are at a minimum unlike our kitchens etc and because of the vast amounts brewed and yeast present germs can't really get a look in as the yeast is the winner.so that's why we need to cover our little batches.